First Drive: 2019 Aston Martin DB11 AMR Signature Edition

NÜRBURG, Germany — There is something serene about the German countryside around the Nürburbring. Small villages append the rolling, tree-lined b-roads where everything is quiet, everything is tranquil. As I cruise through one of these postcard villages, I take a moment to recognize how smooth and quiet ‘my’ Aston Martin DB11 is; and it should be, it’s a GT car right? However, I am not in any old DB11. This is the 2019 Aston Martin DB11 AMR Signature Edition. After sitting behind a tractor for what felt like an eternity, the road opens and I choose to make a pass. I click the wheel-mounted powertrain switch into ‘Sport’ mode, flatten the gas pedal, and the village shrinks in my mirrors as the twin-turbo V12 wakes from its slumber, sending 630 British horses to me down the road. I lift off the gas and the new exhaust system pops, cracks, and gargles with a sound that invokes classic Group B rally car anti-lag vibes. I giggle, then repeat. The once tranquil German landscape is now resonant in what is arguably one of the best sounding engines in the business. Aston’s AMR road car division was introduced to us at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show. Tasked with creating more dynamic versions of existing cars, AMR started with the Vantage AMR and the mental Vantage AMR Pro, but the DB11 was next in line. We liked the standard DB11 V12, so what’s this super GT like after a fettling from the AMR team?… [Read full story]